Four years ago China, using thousands of individuals who obviously practiced for many, many hours, put on an amazing (and a bit disturbing!) opening ceremony in Beijing for the XXIX Olympiad. This past Friday, London had an opportunity to show its creativity and ingenuity in the spectacle that opened the games of the XXX Olympics. It was impressive to see the imagination of the producer, Danny Boyle, as he portrayed some of the history of their nation as it went from an agrarian society to an industrial nation, with huge smoke stacks rising right out of the field far into the air. I was reminded of how man, being made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26,27), has such creative abilities. We might enjoy watching whales surfacing in the ocean, or hummingbirds performing their aerial acts, or some trained dogs performing on “America’s Got Talent,” but only man can put together productions like we witnessed this past Friday night, because only man was made after God’s likeness, with the ability to plan, produce and perform. Such abilities and talents did not arrive through millions of years of evolving, but through the special creative act of an all-wise, all-powerful Creator.
And, speaking of “big productions,” we “ain’t seen nothing yet!” Our Creator Redeemer has an event planned which will be the biggest extravaganza this world or the universe has ever witnessed. It is described for us in the New Testament of the Bible where we read about the new heavens and new earth which God is going to make after judging the current heavens and earth with fire (II Pet. 3:10-13). John, in his vision as an exile on the Isle of Patmos wrote this: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’…And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel…And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. …And the material of the wall was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrosoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass…and the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb (Christ).”
“And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of the street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 21:1-23; 22:1-5)
We may have had some amazing spectacles produced by the ingenuity of mankind, but nothing man has done can begin to compare, first of all to God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, and then to the coming new heavens and new earth and the New Jerusalem which apparently will hover over the earth during the Tribulation and Millennial Reign of Christ on earth and then descend to the earth for eternity, as the center of heaven and the abode of God and those who have trusted Christ as Savior during their life on earth. Wow, I get excited just thinking about it. And then to read the promise in Rev. 22:7, “And behold, I am coming quickly.” Just as God the Son came to earth the first time, at just the moment God had planned (Gal. 4:4), so He will return the second time to bring to a conclusion human history and usher in the eternal state. When Jesus ascended to heaven some forty days after His resurrection, His disciples “were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing,” (Acts 1:9,10) and two angels said to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (v. 11).
As we witness the downward spiral of moral and family values–now in our own nation–and see the pieces fitting together for the final events prophesied to occur just before Christ returns to earth, we can’t help but believe that His coming is drawing very near. John’s closing benediction to the final book of God’s revelation to man is: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
Are you ready? Have you drunk of the “Water of Life,” by trusting Jesus as your personal Savior? If not, here’s the final invitation given in God’s Word: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost’ ” (Rev. 22:17). Come and drink!
Forever His,
Pastor Dave
Wisdom of The Week 